


The Super Smash Bros. Hunger Games

by SereGlavenus



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Character Death, Crossover, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, characters from one series in the situation of another
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:33:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23667676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereGlavenus/pseuds/SereGlavenus
Summary: 24 fighters go missing overnight, and the remaining roster discovers they have been chosen to take part in a cruel battle, this time to the death. Both groups struggle to find a way free, but in the end the games go forward- and not everyone is willing to co-operate with the continued efforts of escaping.Who will make it out of the arena?
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18





	1. Absent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little project that I've been working on for a surprisingly long time- just this first chapter is something I've been building up in tiny pieces for over a year now- mostly because I was just kinda embarrassed about it to keep going for too long haha. Finally, though, I decided to get it done and post it, then properly work on getting more of it finished. If I actually focus on it it's definitely not gonna take another year and you can bet on that, especially given the current global situation of "stay inside".
> 
> I got the idea from reading someone else's story on a different site- a crossover between the Hunger Games and Brawl, from when that was the newest smash game- and that gave me some of my own ideas which is how this started in the first place. I know the actual hunger games are the main attraction, but there's still going to be some content before that. Expect the beginning of the full games to be around chapter 3 or 4.
> 
> Without further ado, I hope you like what I've made. Enjoy yourself!

Bowser had known from the start that something was wrong that day.

As he stomped through the corridors, he couldn't help but notice an eerie silence. In the current home for the dozens of fighters (currently called the "Smash Mansion", a name that makes it sound much more glamorous than it truly is), the sheer number of fighters meant that there would be so much hustle and bustle all day, mornings and evenings especially. On his way to eat, to fight or to kidnap princesses he would always run into some other person. Maybe they were somebody off on their own business like him. Perhaps it was somebody who would have stopped him if they knew what his devious plans were for the day.

Yet today was so strangely quiet. Bowser's son, Bowser Jr, had already left- presumably to eat- but the Koopa King decided to think little of it. He's growing up, after all. He can have breakfast himself if he wants; the kid can have some independence. He found it odd, though, when there was no rotund italian man to glare at him, no chattering children to scare or lightning-fast rodents poking fun at his sluggishness. A strange sense of unease came over him soon enough. Well, Bowser knew that everyone had to be somewhere around here... and besides, if they're not, there's less people to get in his way, right? Wahahaha! But... if there really are some people gone, then why? Has something happened? Is it safe? He dismissed it at first as ridiculous but as time went on he became less and less sure.

It wasn't too long before he heard somebody calling for him, and it was oddly welcome.  
"Bowser! This way!" they shouted. "We're trying to get everyone into Big Battlefield!"  
Sometimes, he wished he could vocalise his confusion in situations like these, but the world decided he could not, and he had to live with it. He identified the person as Daisy, who thankfully understood what his strange glare was all about.  
"Oh! It's really important. It's just to see who's still here. We think people have gone missing," she explained.

Bowser initally shook his head in dismissal.  
"Come on, you have to go. If people don't see you, they'll think you're gone too!" Daisy exclaimed, trying to convince him.  
In actuality, she had no chance of convincing him, but his conscience did. The princess made it seem like fighters were disappearing into thin air, which he knew could not be the case, but perhaps something had happened... and his mind jumped to his son. Perhaps Bowser Jr. had gone missing too, and that's why Bowser hadn't seen him? He scratched his head, trying to hide the alarm bells in his mind, and decided to concede. He tried to remain as aware as he could, however, in case it was a trap crafted to take his guard down. He nodded at Daisy, then began to make a move towards the way to Big Battlefield at a slightly quicker pace than usual.

He arrived to the presence of a couple dozen fighters, all packed together in an attempt to fit into the stage. It may have been "Big" Battlefield, but it clearly wasn't big enough for everyone. He saw some fighters were stuck on the edge of the floating platform, uncomfortably close to falling off, and was glad- as a late arrival- that he would not find himself pushed to the edge by a growing mass of friends and foes alike. Upon the top platform, a small group with slightly more space was stationed, seemingly trying to count everyone on the stage. Bowser himself was scanning the area, trying to see who was and wasn't there.

One notable person was Pit, who seemed to be lost in much more confusion and fear than anyone else. Truth be told, he cared little for Pit. He may be an angel, but that didn't mean he commanded respect, and as the Koopa King, Bowser saw no reason to treat him as some higher divine being. He had bested the boy enough times before to know the truth of his power- he needs his Goddess to be at his highest strength. But, right now, nobody seemed to have found any sign of Palutena, and that led Pit to show just how little he was without her.

One missing person he could celebrate about was Mario. Dr. Mario was there on the highest platform, but he was more focused on beating viruses senseless with pills rather than rescuing Princess Peach. Speaking of Peach, she was also absent, which brought him back to the disappointing side of the situation again. This isn't even mentioning the worst of all- despite how much he looked, he saw no sign of Bowser Jr. Nothing, even after he began pushing through the crowd and calling for him. Bowser Jr wasn't here, and his absence combined with the princess had left him in panic and a strange hopelessness trying to crawl over him. But he couldn't give up yet. Perhaps he had missed something...  
If something happened to his boy, whoever was responsible would NEVER get away with it.

\---

26 people.  
As if the situation wasn't already worrying enough, there didn't seem to be much connection between those still missing, although it was such a huge number that it's unlikely something would be common between them all- other than all being smash fighters, of course. 13 boys, 12 girls, and one other- so surprisingly evenly split to say that there were many more men than women in smash. In fact, the number of women left could probably be counted on one hand, but that was not the counting that Robin was concerned with.

"Bowser... I can feel his aura. He has come onto this stage," Lucario spoke, just barely audible over the noise of the crowd.

Alright. That makes 25- not much better. She'd thought that Bowser would be much easier to find given his large size and such, but they did have quite a large area to search through and at least he was here now. The number of people being found had slowed down significantly, though, and she worried that soon, there would be nobody free left to find.  
"What happened to these people...?" she muttered, knowing by now that there had to be something up, and there had to be something done about it.  
"Maybe they're just sick," commented Dr. Mario.  
"All at once? That's very unlikely. All during the same day, with nobody else showing symptoms? I just can't see it happening."

She noticed someone else hop up to the top platform: This time, not a fighter, but someone whose role was as an assist trophy. This was Nikki, a young girl with shorter brown hair, red glasses and a plain green sweater. She spent her free time drawing, which played well into what she would do when summoned, but in her home world she was also the face of a message delivery service. She didn't appear to notice much of the negative emotion in the area, only that they weren't much up for speaking to her, but she seemed to find what she was looking for on the top platform.  
"Hello!" she said in greeting. "Wow, I didn't know you did battles this big!"  
"We don't. We're just trying to get everyone in one place," replied Robin.  
"Oh, so that's why I couldn't find anyone outside. Well, at least it makes it easier for me to deliver this letter!" she laughed, handing the letter to Robin.  
It was addressed to "the remaining Smash Bros. roster".

"Aha! If my plumber self isn't here, then I'll read it!" Dr. Mario shouted, snatching the letter out of Robin's hands and carefully opening it. "A-hem! Everyone, please make your way to the Boxing Ring. There, you will find out where your friends are. Signed, Master Hand."  
The crowd grew silent to listen, only to become louder than ever before. Some became more optimistic- others only became more afraid of what had happened. One thing that united them all, though, was the one thing they had left to do- gather everyone together in the Boxing Ring. 

They had no idea what awful things were about to happen in the next few weeks.


	2. Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inkling Girl and the rest of the tributes find out just what they've been forced into. They hold out hope that there's a way out before the games, but time isn't getting any slower and there doesn't look to be anything yet...

This had to be just some awful nightmare, right? Inkling Girl had gone through her fair share of turf war splats and smash KOs, but she'd never had to worry about REAL death like she was told she would be facing. She couldn't help but shiver. It all seemed to be so familiar but with a sick twist... supposedly she'd train for seven days, then be sent to an arena where the only way out was to be the last one standing or die trying. It seemed just like Smash but with a larger stage and much more dire consequences, and unlike the turf war she was that much more familiar with, she might very well be on her own. 

Well, there was more to it than that. Apparently there were 24 fighters, and they'd been split into pairs, although this didn't really seem to serve much purpose. Inkling had woken up in a locked, windowless room with her other "district" member, Bowser Jr. District? What did it take to be part of the same district? How were the pairs chosen for this stupid game, anyway, and were they even truly meant to work together? She supposed that maybe they could find common ground with their interest in ink, painting, and that sort of thing- she'd heard that Bowser Jr caused a huge graffiti problem on some island once. What about the others?

When she'd woken up, she and Bowser Jr were shown some info on a TV screen next to the door. Some? More like a TON, but it seemed to be enough to get the gist. In that huge infodump, the announcer told them all the pairings, too, and though she couldn't remember all of them, they were told they were written in a book somewhere in each room along with everything else so nobody forgot the rules- a book she couldn't be bothered to find right now.  
Throughout the day, they were presented with a few more little "helpful" videos on the TV, going into more detail for the process and dispensing some food to them afterwards. One of these details was that apparently, they'd have a few minutes after training to prove themselves to the one behind all this, then they'd give them each a score. When they entered the games, they had to wait until a countdown finished to step off from the platform. Somebody's death would be signalled by a cannon-like sound. Something about interviews and style, too, and while style really caught her attention, she didn't hear much other than it would be "changed".

Bowser Jr appeared to be trying to scheme an escape, and that was their best hope, but there didn't seem to be much opportunity yet- brute forcing was obvious but no area in the room had any give. Maybe during training week? They'd have to know the layout and all that to get any ideas; at least they had a week to think. It's a shame she couldn't talk to Bowser Jr properly since Bowser Jr didn't understand squid language. All she could do was listen and give signals, meaning she couldn't easily help form a plan with him, tell him outright to stop trying to steal her food, and she didn't have anyone to talk to. That was quickly taking its toll.

At the end of the day, the last announcement was made- they'd each recieve a token from home or someone they cared about. They wouldn't be useful in the games, but it was something for them to cherish as they likely marched to their death. When Inkling's token was dispensed, what she got was a mem cake- a small item, this one shaped just like her. She'd seen these before: Agent 8 collected them... and it gave her strength that someone she knew was rooting for her.

It was not long after that when she went to sleep on the surprisingly comfortable bed, hoping to sleep well to start the training week off on the right foot.

Instead, Inkling woke up to the sound of a CRASH. Scenes of hurt and murder flashed through her head. She'd had a nightmare... a nightmare where everyone in Inkopolis was gone, except a small handful. The city was silent. And she killed them. First, the strangers, but then... no, she had to forget about this! She couldn't be driving herself crazy with this sort of thing. She had to work out how to get free, and if she kept thinking about it she wouldn't be able to do anything else. Be calm.

Inkling almost put her head back to the pillow when she finally noticed the source of the sound. The locked door was open! Finally, somewhere else to go.  
"Come on, get inside!" Isabelle whispered through the door.  
Isabelle! And... inside...?  
Inkling wasn't about to question it and as fast as she could, she slipped off of the bed and rushed through the door, tackling Isabelle into a hug. Isabelle may have been a cute little (bipedal, talking) dog that Inkling happened to get along with, but most of all she was just worried about everyone else and didn't want to be stuck with just Bowser Jr until the end of the week.  
"Aww. It's great to see you too!" Isabelle said, smiling.

Click.  
The door closed behind her and locked again, then a soft rumble started and Inkling felt a shift. This was when she looked around and realised she was in a train carriage, most likely to the training area.  
She looked around for somewhere to sit, but all the seats were already full with other participants (save one that Isabelle must have been sat in, which she was now returning to). Bowser Jr, improvising, sat on Kirby's head, which he didn't seem to object to. It should have been comforting for everyone to be in one place, but instead it just made her feel even more uneasy, not helped by the mood of the place she'd just entered. Everyone seemed to be struggling to keep a brave face on. Princess Peach had definitely been crying a LOT, despite Mario's attempts to calm her, and Marth was with... another Marth? No, that was Lucina. She must have copied Marth's hairstyle, making them look eerily similar, and somehow that made Inkling uncomfortable. The only person who seemed to look normal was Samus, but that wasn't too surprising, given her job and past.

"Listen, Inkling! We've come up with a plan!" cheered Isabelle, somehow clapping her paws.  
"Yeah, a plan that will get us all dead. If we don't kill each other, whoever brought us here will probably just kill us themselves," retorted Dark Pit.  
"H-hey! Don't say that," Isabelle stuttered, "it's like choosing drinks. Access to one glass of whiskey is better than nothing, even if it's technically a poison..."  
Inkling looked at Isabelle with a mix of confusion and curiosity. Did Isabelle drink? She'd never seen a drop of alcohol around the Smash Mansion, but maybe she wasn't really looking. Either way, that comparison kind of fell on its face.  
"Oh, of course! I need to tell you what it is. This awful trick they've done wants to make us hurt each other," she explained, frowning, "but what if we just work together? We can lead our own charge to freedom!"

Well, perhaps it was a backup for if it truly came to it, but... Inkling wasn't entirely convinced. Even she had to admit Dark Pit had a point. Then again, was there anything truly concrete for them to rely on? Gah, it was all just so... stressful! And trapping... she felt so trapped...  
"Um, hey. Inkling, you don't look so good. Here, you can sit in my seat," Isabelle offered.  
Inkling obliged, taking her place next to Sonic, who seemed to still be snoozing. The train soon stopped again, allowing the final two fighters to come onto the train- Luigi and Corrin. Inkling didn't pay much attention to them at first, as she started getting lost in her own world, if only for a moment. 

Corrin interrupted her almost immediately.  
"Hello, Inkling. I really wanted to ask you something. Can you... use your squid form?" she asked.  
Hmm? She couldn't tell if that was a command or a question, but she figured she still could. So, as Corrin asked, her form melted into itself then features reemerged into a squid, just the same as normal.  
"Oh, that's interesting. I can't stray at all from being a human," she said thoughtfully.  
"I can't cast any magic," commented Zelda.  
"Poyo!" added Kirby, who mainly just wanted to join in, but had noticed his inhaling powers had weakened.  
"And I don't have any of my powers. It must be because being both a squid and a kid is such an important part of inkling biology that removing it would be difficult," added Palutena. "It might seem unfair, but without ink on a surface her squid form isn't helpful. I'm more concerned with how someone could pull this off without any of us noticing."  
This just made Inkling more worried on who they were dealing with. She morphed back into a kid, tuned out the rest of the conversation for now, then waited for the train to stop for the final time, as Mario stood up and walked next to the door- he must've wanted to be the first one to step off.

Slowly, the rumbles came to a halt, and the door opened with a thud. Fighters began to pour out of the train, and they pooled in a small crowd in what was undoubtedly the training area.  
There was also someone familiar- Mewtwo.  
"Hmph. If you don't understand something, ask. Otherwise, don't bother me," their voice echoed.  
"Mewtwo? Are you the one behind this?" questioned Leaf.  
"No," they said, turning around to leave the fighters behind, "or else I wouldn't be wasting my time here."  
"Hold on, mr. Mewtwo!" Isabelle barked, "We aren't going to hurt each other, and nothing can change that!"  
For a few moments, there was silence.

"Fool," Mewtwo muttered.  
"Huh?"  
Mewtwo sighed in frustration. "If you don't comply, then you're putting everyone in danger. Please, don't try to waste any more time like this."  
With that, Mewtwo made their way to the corner to watch the fighters, some of whom were already resigning themselves to their fate. Others, however, were all the more determined, most of all: Mario.  
He glanced around the large hall- grey and lifeless. It was full of exercize equipment, among many other tools, but there didn't look to be any doors or pipes. So far, it wasn't looking good for their escape, but another obvious factor was...  
"Hey, Mewtwo!" Mario called to them.  
"What?" Mewtwo responded with an increasingly annoyed tone.  
"Can you still teleport?" asked Mario.  
"You have the subtlety of a brick, Mario. You don't need to know. Now shut up."  
Mewtwo was not the only one glaring at him. He did think Mewtwo was acting a little strangely, though. What on earth was going on?

Well, they still had a week to go.

\---

Status of the tributes:  
(District/Gender: Name, status)  
1M: Mario, Alive  
1F: Peach, Alive  
2M: Link, Alive  
2F: Zelda, Alive  
3M: Fox, Alive  
3F: Samus, Alive  
4M: Kirby, Alive  
4F: Nana (Ice Climber), Alive  
5M: Sonic, Alive  
5F: Isabelle, Alive  
6M: Dark Pit, Alive  
6F: Palutena, Alive  
7M: Marth, Alive  
7F: Lucina, Alive  
8M: Diddy Kong, Alive  
8F: Leaf (Pokémon Trainer), Alive  
9M: Ryu, Alive  
9F: Wii Fit Trainer, Alive  
10M: Ness, Alive  
10F: Pikachu (Libre), Alive  
11M: Bowser Jr, Alive  
11F: Inkling, Alive  
12M: Luigi, Alive  
12F: Corrin, Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inkling Girl was the main focus for this chapter, but don't worry if you want to see more of someone else- the spotlight will move to another character for the next chapter, then another for the next, and so on. I'd like to consider everyone the protagonist, so I'll try to split time between many characters. Unfortunately, I won't be able to do all 75+ fighters. beyond there being just that many characters to go through, there's also the limiting factor that I don't *know* every Smash character (trust me, if I'd played or knew more about Persona 5, Joker would probably actually exist already), but I'll do my best to spread the love around!


	3. The Odds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The remaining Smash Fighters learn that the others have been forced into the games, and the tributes make their way through training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking this whole beginning part may have dragged on a bit, and I realised that if I didn't speed things up then it'd take a bit too long- or longer than I thought- to get to the games + I'd probably be filling too much time with virtually nothing of worth, which some could argue is already happening. Thus, you'll notice that the pace changes a bit in parts of this chapter. Sorry if things haven't been that great so far- I'm not the most practiced author (especially with multiple-chapter stuff- I think this is the first time I've actually written one more than 2 lol) but I'm doing my best, and the games should hopefully get more interesting.
> 
> Speaking of the games, they are almost certainly going to start in chapter 4. Not right at the start, mind you, but I'll try to cut the time beforehand short because I know the games are what the fic is meant to be about, not people crying that the games are about to happen.  
> Stuff that seems odd or needs more explanation will have more light shed on it later!

Technically, there were two trios of Pokémon for the Pokémon Trainers in Smash. There was Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard for Red, and there was Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard for Leaf. He couldn't speak for any of the other Pokémon, but Leaf's Ivysaur was completely lost. 

He wasn't the only one. Popo was without Nana. Donkey Kong was without Diddy Kong. Pit was without Palutena, and so on. All of them wanted answers as fast as possible, so those that were affected the most were definitely leading the charge to the Boxing Ring. When they got there, they soon found out why it was chosen: the Boxing Ring may have had front row seats to a boxing match, but it also had a massive screen. Usually, it displayed info on the current combatants with a zoom in on their fight- for now, it had been repurposed for something a little different, and when everyone settled in, the screen turned on and a voice boomed into the room.

"As you may already know, 24 fighters have not been seen since yesterday night. This is for a reason," the announcer said, while everyone listened intently. "These people have all been chosen for a special battle royale!"  
"(A special battle royale? Wow, so lucky!) (No wonder they're not here- maybe they're preparing?) (I wish I was chosen. It sounds like fun...)" the crowd began to murmur, as the faces of 24 fighters flashed on the screen.  
but Ivysaur knew that something still wasn't right. Leaf was up there, and Leaf couldn't fight on her own. She needed her Pokémon to compete... right?  
"What makes this battle so special isn't just that it's between 24 fighters, or that it's set in a huge arena- even bigger than the stages you've come to know like the planet setting of Mario Galaxy or the large space in Wii Fit Studio. Most importantly, there is no time or stock limit. You're "out" when you die, and the winner is the last fighter standing!  
In other words, 24 fighters- or tributes- will go in, but only one tribute will come out. That tribute will be the victor," the announcer continued.

Throughout his little speech, the positive tones of the murmurs soon changed their colours, and everything completely flipped when they heard that all but one were going to die.  
"Tune back in after a 10-minute break, where more details will be explained. Alternatively, you can read all about it with a book I've given to Assist Trophy Nikki. Thank you for listening," he concluded.

The room descended into absolute chaos.  
Some people were the lucky ones. They didn't have any connections to people forced into the fight, and could only feel sympathy for those worse off and act shocked about how evil it was that this was happening. Ivysaur envied them, because nobody deserved to be on the other side- the side where friends, partners, and even parents were seeing their loved ones put to a death sentence. The side where people were screaming, in tears, or yelling curses and swearing vengeance. He couldn't see them from where he was, but he imagined Bowser and Chrom would be on a warpath especially. Ivysaur didn't know them well, but he was sure that, for both of them, their child meant everything.  
Of course, on both sides there were those who were much more upset than others, and there were those in complete denial. Ivysaur wished he could be in denial, but he couldn't stay positive when he was seperated from his trainer like this, not knowing where she is or if she was safe. What if the battle had already happened and she was dead? He quickly began to feel tense and upset.  
'No, this isn't reasonable,' he thought. 'There has to be something we can do!'

Evidently, he wasn't the only one that was thinking this way.  
"Listen to me, everyone!" Chrom called, trying to catch the attention of everyone on the room. "Right now, dozens of people we all know and care for are in grave danger. They have been forced into a brutal game where nobody is truly a winner. I refuse to stand idly by while our friends and family are suffering! We must band together for an important cause- to stop them from meeting a cruel and meaningless end, and return them to safety!"  
"Yeah!" yelled Daisy. "We need to get everyone out of there. Luigi must be scared out of his mind!"  
"HYAAAA!" cried Toon Link, ready to try and save Zelda- AND his other self.  
"Lady Palutena needs help, and I won't let her down!" exclaimed Pit, already prepared to search.  
"But we don't know where to look!" said Dr. Mario. "And we counted 25 missing people, so where's..."

"Right here," Mewtwo grumbled, appearing next to Dr. Mario. "I... know what's happened, and I think I have a lead. If you're interested, follow."  
Mewtwo turned around, ready to leave as soon as he appeared. They quickly gained a large following of people who didn't want to lose sight of them. Ivysaur wasn't one of them- sure, he was interested in a lead, but if too many people followed Mewtwo it would probably become awkward. Someone from the group was likely to report back, so he wouldn't be missing out. Besides, Ivysaur wasn't as fast as some of the others and might lag behind, and they had more "details" to find out in a few minutes, anyway. At least it explained where Mewtwo had been.  
Now he just had to wait for the "extra details".

As it turns out, the extra details weren't all that comforting. EVERYONE had to watch. No ifs, no buts. Starting from next week, when the "training scores" were shown, everyone had to be there to watch what was shown. There was more info about what would happen in the games, But nothing that would give them clues.  
After the video finished, the group that hadn't followed Mewtwo decided to split up to search for clues elsewhere then meet back to share if they'd found anything. Hopefully, between them and the mewtwo group, they'd find something.

\---

After being all cooped up in one tiny room all day yesterday, the thing Sonic was most ready to do the moment he had the chance was run. Unsurprisingly, run he did- he felt like he had enough energy to run for the whole week without sleeping, though unfortunately that energy did not actually last the entire week. In fact, he himself felt a bit weaker than usual, not nearly going as fast as he knew he was capable of. Perhaps that was his equivalent of magic being taken away: he could only go mega fast rather than impossibly fast. Still definitely the fastest one in the room, though. Maybe the rest of them always skipped leg day.

Sonic didn't like being stuck inside regardless of how much space he had. If they couldn't escape, though, at least the arena will probably be outside, so he wouldn't be stuck for long. Speaking of which, if they actually did have to go (which they probably wouldn't) now would still be a great time to size up his opponents.  
Hmm... Ryu and Wii Fit Trainer were incredibly strong, so they'd probably be very worthy opponents for him. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Ness, Leaf and Bowser Jr. were just little kids. The best thing going for them is that he'd probably feel bad fighting them. Marth and Lucina were great swordfighters, so they'd probably need to have-

Hey, speaking of Marth, there he was with Zelda, talking about something. Zelda, at least, looked kinda scared and was wary of her surroundings, and they were speaking quietly.  
"I won't let you down" was the one thing Sonic heard before they parted ways. Were they... forming a plan together? Did they have escape ideas? Hopefully they'd spill the beans before the week was over.

Made him wonder what other plots he'd been missing out on. 

The days began to pass, and Sonic was still spending most of his training time running. Occasionally, he raced with Pikachu, which was tough, though Sonic still won in the end. You might think "but Sonic! You're already the fastest runner, so you don't need more practice!" and you'd be right that he's the fastest, but that one whole day in that room really got him riled up and he needed to compensate many times over. Other things he did included helping some of the others try to find some way of getting out, but they struggled finding anything to exploit. Nana and Diddy Kong had taken to throwing this really heavy ball at the wall (to weaken it?), which didn't seem to be working, though a few others joined in for a while.

Things had started to change throughout the week. He saw some characters grow more determined, only to falter and begin to lose hope. He saw others descend even further into the hopelessness they already had. A few were even more fired up, despite the situation. Sonic? Well, he wasn't planning on killing anyone. Fighting, sure, but nothing worse than he'd do in Smash Bros- just KO people at worst. He and Isabelle had come up with a perfect idea together, right? Hey, it might lure out the sicko that wants everyone to kill each other. They'll get bored, try to kill the fighters themselves, then we'd all kick 'em in the guts and make them release us! How had so few people taken them seriously yet?  
Besides, if in some way the bad guy gets them to turn against each other, that didn't mean Sonic had to kill the others. That just wasn't the way to go about it.

Did other people not see things his way...? He was soon going to find out. The final day was approaching, and there still didn't look to be any progress with escaping. Annoying, but in Sonic's opinion, the best chance was to wait until they got into the arena. He didn't like waiting at all, but it was for the good of everyone. No, the worse thing was that so many around him seemed to genuinely be preparing for killing- they weren't happy about it, but they seemed resigned to the fact that they were going in regardless. Even Isabelle, the one who helped come up with their idea, seemed to be losing hope and getting ready for the real thing. Well, as much as Isabelle was capable of doing, which used to involve being optimistic and now mostly involved wondering who would take pity on her then crying over what she'd gotten herself into.

So he had to be prepared for a little self-defence. Nothing Sonic the Hedgehog can't deal with! He'd just have to talk them into it in the arena. After all, it probably wasn't as scary a place as it sounded. 

\---

Looks like their search so far had ended up in failure. Nobody had reported back any useful information or found any clues yet, even after Mewtwo's tip. Apparently they'd found some closed portals...? That seemed to be a dead end right now because Mewtwo could only open one every day, and the first one didn't seem to help, opening back outside the Smash Mansion. Maybe they'd find something else in the days to come. Every second counts.

Each tribute was meant to recieve a token from someone, and Ivysaur decided for Leaf it might as well be from her Pokémon. She'd given so much to them over the years... nobody shared a bond stronger than between her and her Pokémon.

A variety of trinkets and such had been dropped into a box, which would supposedly be where the tokens should go. Ivysaur held his Pokéball in a solitary vine, which he'd found found left underneath Leaf's bed.  
"What are you doing?" asked Squirtle.  
"Dropping off a token for Leaf," replied Ivysaur.  
"What? That's your Pokéball, Ivysaur." Squirtle reminded him, confused.  
"If she makes it out, then she'll probably still have it," Ivysaur explained. "And if she... if something else happens, then we won't need anyway."  
Squirtle looked concerned. "If you're sure..." 

Ivysaur released the ball from his vine, and it fell on top of all the other objects.  
"Good luck, pal."

A new day. A new chance. Yet still, nothing. Just more info on the murderfest, coming closer and closer. Tomorrow. Worse than nothing- Rosalina seemed to have lost her voice completely, and tried to indicate about something important, but wasn't able to write it down either or say why not or anything... what in Giratina's name was going on? By the end of the week, they were exhausted (except Wario, who seemed to have kept up his energy with consistent consumption of garlic, and didn't have as much to lose by searching less). And what did they get? Nothing. Some were definitely still going, determined to stop everything, but Ivysaur had given up, and just had to hope and pray that Leaf would come back.

Perhaps it was greedy of him to prefer his trainer over everyone else, but what was he to do? If he lost her to something as stupid as this, he might not be able to live with himself. Maybe if he were a better Pokémon, she would still be here? Instead, he was sat on the Boxing Ring stage, waiting for the screen to tell him if he should expect to lose someone he considered family. He had to wait for the training scores to come through. What impression could she make in the time period she was given? The screen flickered on, and finally, portaits of fighters and their scores began to show. Ivysaur didn't care about how most of them did. What Ivysaur cared about was Leaf doing well. 

She got a 3.   
She got such a low score. Ivysaur couldn't believe his eyes.  
'No, this can't be,' Ivysaur thought, trying to calm down. 'Anyway, the training score doesn't matter. Just because it didn't look like she did well doesn't mean that she has no chance of winning.'  
But after a week of looking, knowing she might die and knowing she was weak compared to the other participants... it was too much. 

Ivysaur didn't sleep that night.


	4. Dawn of the First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The games begin. The 24 tributes are brought to the place which might as well be their graveyard.
> 
> May the odds be ever in your favour.

"So, Lucina."  
She glared at the giant, floating, twitching hand opposite from her, certain that she'd be beating it into the ground if not for the barrier between them.  
"How do you feel about the games?"  
"I think they're twisted and unnecessary!" Lucina shouted. "How could you allow this, Crazy Hand, let alone be a part of it? Are you the one behind this?"  
"Gahahaha! No. I wish I could be this creative. Doesn't it hurt seeing your friends turn against you?" he replied.  
"What are you talking about? We're not following along with your idiotic game," she stated.  
"I've spoken to a baker's dozen of people before you, girl. It's not looking good for your unity," he said, "But you did get a very good training score... if you put your mind to it, I'm sure you could do well! You don't want to disappoint Chrom, do you?"  
Lucina flinched. He was trying to make her angry, though, wasn't he? She knew (most of) the fighters were very strong-willed. They couldn't fall for this.

"I swear, when this is over-"  
"You'll have the blood of all your enemies on your hands," Crazy Hand laughed, "or you won't be here at all!"

She didn't know what kind of excuse for an interview that was. Was the whole point to try and put the final nail in the coffin? She didn't believe a word that disembodied hand said, but it chilled her, knowing that he wasn't all that far from the truth, in a sense. She knew some people had given up. It couldn't be that bad, though, could it? She refused to kill unless it was absolutely necessary- that much she was sure about.

Not long after the "interview", she was given a pile of clothes to change into for the games that were happening disturbingly soon. There was no cloak or armour, but she was still surprised how similar they were to Marth's regular clothes, which along with her change of hairstyle, made them look more identical than ever. Honestly, it would probably cast suspicion on them more than anything, which didn't help her much. All she could hope was that they would listen to her if they were truly as broken down as Crazy Hand said.

And then it was time. Lucina stepped onto the platform that would raise her to the arena, ready to see her fellow fighters again- some of which, as it turned out, for the final time. She looked behind her to see the well-lit room she would be leaving behind, then above her to the darkness that would soon open into the place she'd spend the forseeable future.  
"I pray to the gods that it's not too late for them," she whispered to herself.  
She held her token, the butterfly mask she'd seen too many battles with in Ylisse, and for a moment considered wearing it... but as the platform began to rise, leaving the light behind, she decided against it. The darkness above her opened into light, and all at the same time, the tributes got a look at their arena.

They had 10 seconds to take their surroundings in until the games started, which would trigger the bloodbath that was perfectly capable of cutting the number of tributes in half. In those 10 seconds, they could try to absorb the state of their environment and interpret the look of their fellow fighters- stationed in a circle around the cornucopia, the centre of the arena. The first thing Lucina noticed was the environment, which seemed to be some kind of mishmash of many of the fighter's homeworlds. The area in the middle of the tribute's starting points was modelled after a Pokémon battling stadium, the cornucopia shaped like a giant open Pokéball lodged into the floor. She looked behind her and saw an icy, misty and mountainous landscape that, with that many platforms around, looked like it might have been based on the Ice Climbers' home. Ahead and slightly to the left, she saw a grassy area that seemed to take inspiration from both the Mushroom Kingdom and Green Hill Zone, with the landscape going up and down and even having a loop-de-loop that she wasn't sure could actually be utilised (and some brick and question blocks around). Finally, the third closeby area was rocky and bumpy, and it looks like there were some holes and ravines with very nasty drops. The way it appeared made her think that perhaps this was based on a moon or planet...? She could glimpse other landscapes much further away- it looked like maybe a forest in one direction and a more modern setting in another, but she could worry about those when she wasn't seconds away from danger.

10\. 9. 8. 7.  
It was now that Lucina decided to look at what she could see actually inside the Cornucopia. There were a few bags that must have had some important supplies inside, and random things strewn about like a few sleeping bags, some extra clothes, a bucket, rope, and so on. The things that must have been drawing the most attention, however, were the weapons- among a few others obscured from view, there was a bow with a few arrows, a sword, what looked like perhaps a knife or dagger... and right in the middle, a loaded splattershot lied for anyone to see.

6\. 5. 4.  
Lucina scanned the tributes and turned her eyes to Inkling, nearly at the opposite side of the circle of tributes, who had just realised she was being stared at. There was a dangerous weapon in there that only Inkling could utilise to its fullest, which made her a prime target in case she got hold of it. The ink she sprayed people with felt like acid, burning, and weakened people significantly when they were covered in it. Inkling did not seem to be doing well with her newfound target status, and Lucina felt very sorry for her. But if she looked so nervous, then the rest of the fighters must be...  
Oh dear gods.  
She did not see many friendly faces when she looked at the rest of the tributes. Many people were looking suspiciously at each other, and especially at inkling. Some keeping on their toes, ready to run, regardless of how friendly they appeared to be. She looked at Marth, and saw no comfort- only some form of determination- and just past Marth, a few spaces down from her, was Leaf. Not warming up or on her toes. Not looking at the other tributes. She'd virtually sunken to the floor and was audibly weeping. No doubt about it, Leaf would need to be protected from people who might capitalise on her weakness. Even more than ever, Lucina was disgusted at what awful situation they'd been forced into, and it hurt her more that maybe, just maybe, Crazy Hand was right.

3.  
2.  
1.  
GO!

While some fled right away, Lucina and many others rushed straight for the Cornucopia. Sonic, though slower than normal, was still incredibly fast and got there first- he grabbed one bag, then immediately reached for and grabbed the Splattershot.  
"Everyone, we don't have to do this! We can just talk things out!" shouted Sonic, pointing the ink gun wildly around him to try and stop people from targeting him.  
It didn't work. Dark Pit, clearly not buying Sonic's attempt at peacemaking, grabbed the dagger and threw it at him. Sonic ducked to avoid it, but then looked around and saw no shortage of people ready to attack him. He muttered something to himself, then tried to run past everyone with the bag and splattershot- to be met by a kick in the face by Ryu near the back of the crowd, causing him to drop the gun. He wasted no time in fleeing from the slower but more powerful fighter, deciding the Splattershot wasn't worth the risk and heading in the direction of the Mushroom Hill area.

Inkling took this opportunity to dive for the gun and grabbed it, then immediately took aim at Ryu and fired while backing off. She was the victim of a swift set of punches, drawing out a very pained and afraid squid noise that Lucina had never heard so intensely before. Inkling transformed into a squid and hid in some of the ink splatters on the floor, but it was no use for hiding because it was obvious where she had gone.

Lucina reached for the blade at the same time as Link, who grabbed it first then pointed it at her. Not wanting to leave with nothing, she dashed to the side and grabbed a backpack, only to see Pikachu grab it at the same time. Lucina reacted by kicking the electric mouse to make it lose its grip, and Pikachu turned her attention elsewhere.

A loud BANG erupted from closeby... a cannon-like sound. Somebody had just died. Lucina had enough to worry about with her own situation, though, so she had no chance to see who had met their fate- only feel sick that already, someone's life had been taken.  
"L-Lu- CINA!" she heard Link cry.  
She was surprised to hear Link say something- he seemed to be of very few, if zero words in all the time she'd spent as a fighter. She turned to look at him, only to see him with an arrow piercing directly through his chest and surrounded by a different scene than moments ago. Kirby was behind him, trying to catch Dark Pit's attention, who was really getting into all the fighting. Wii Fit Trainer was running through the crowd to grab supplies. She looked so calm, somehow. The deep breathing must have helped a lot. Finally, in the corner of her eye, she could see Zelda, who appeared shocked and distressed at Link's sudden change in condition.

Link tossed the sword towards her, then started to move away. Link, the hero who wielded the Master Sword and the triforce of courage, already with what could be a deadly wound. Was that why he was offering to return the sword to her? It was just seconds before that he was threatening her with it. Zelda was right there, and she could have got the sword instead. She didn't understand it. She couldn't understand.

She didn't even get the sword. Ness rushed over and grabbed it, only to be kicked in the back of the head by Mario. Lucina just kept hold of her backpack, put it over her shoulders and turned tail to run, though she was prepared to come back later when she needed more. She decided to head in the direction of the rocky "space" area, since the Mushroom Hills would definitely be a popular choice and the icy area might be too cold to be safe. She ran, ran, and ran some more, hearing cannon after cannon, death after death while she was scaling over rocks and obstacles-  
"U-um, wait!" called a familiar, quick voice. "Please, let me catch up!  
She looked behind her to see Isabelle speeding after her. In that moment, Lucina panicked for a moment and took a defensive position, even though she didn't have any weapons (that she knew of. There could be something in the backpack, maybe, but she'd wanted to be alone and safe before looking).  
"Ah! Please don't attack me. I need help..."  
She saw the large sillhouette of a bell-like head and calmed down, then cursed herself for becoming so tense and scaring the girl. Isabelle was on her side, and it didn't look like anyone else was following them.  
"I'm sorry, Isabelle. I didn't mean to appear threatening," Lucina said, reaching out her hand to shake the Shih-Tzu's.  
"Oh, it's alright! I'm just glad you're not going to hurt me," she replied, meeting her paw with Lucina's and shaking it. She could feel that the poor dog was quivering.  
"You must understand, after the cornucopia... I was a little on edge," Lucina explained.  
"I know the feeling," Isabelle frowned. "Why are people being so brutal? And, oh no, the cannons! They're always going off at any moment! It's hard to bear..."  
Lucina tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, Isabelle. I'll do my best to protect you. Maybe we can still save those who are left."  
Those who are left? Lucina hadn't counted the cannon shots, just found it disturbing that so many had been going off. Regardless, it wasn't looking good, so she decided some other subject would be a better use of her time. Perhaps she should look in the backpack she'd taken, then.

She and Isabelle opened it and sifted through. Inside were a few rations of some mushy food, a bottle of water and a little slingshot that came with some rocks perfect for use with it. So, as it turned out, she did have a weapon, and she did have some food. She had enough to live- for a while.  
"Wow, that slingshot looks like the type Mr. Nook stocks at home," Isabelle commented. "I wonder if there are any balloons floating around?"  
'Probably not,' Lucina thought. 'We must find a way of salvaging this, but what can we do?'

\---

"It's like it was made specifically for these games," Snake spoke.  
"Yes. It doesn't give us any ideas as to where it might be because it shares so many traits from different places that it could be anywhere," Robin added. "But we need to find something, and we need to find it fast if we want to bring anyone back."

They knew that Smash, and the universe, could never be the same after this. Already, more than a quarter of the tributes had been killed. They would be going forward without so many great people. Even if they only allowed one life to slip, the first one to die had been Inkling Girl, a very popular and famous fighter- as it stood, they had even lost three of the original 12 in a flash. How Kirby and Link, such great people, had fallen so quickly shocked everyone. Kirby appeared to have been disoriented without being able to inhale properly, and still believed too much in everyone being friends, costing him his life. Link, perhaps, had been a target because of him being a proven warrior, and though they could always bring back the Link that had been with them for the fourth Smash roster, the Hero of the Wild had integrated so well and it would be a shame to go on without him. What was more surprising were the people who so easily turned their backs to him and shot the arrow that sealed his fate, though perhaps it shouldn't have been. Why didn't anyone listen to Sonic? What happened that they didn't see?

"I had my suspicions on who could have brought us to this, and I loathe to say it, but the evidence is looking to be very much in their favour..." muttered Robin.  
"Yeah. I think I see what you're getting at," Snake said. "That creepy giant hand has the power to do something like this."  
"Exactly."  
"What I still don't get is why. If it really is him, that is. There's nothing he could possibly get out of this that's an advantage to him."  
"But who else could it be if not the hands? Neither of them have been around much lately, and to keep a goddess trapped in there and absorb her powers is something very few could do," Robin countered.  
"I still don't see a reason to believe that woman really is a goddess. She didn't seem that tough to me," he retorted.  
"Now's not the time for this, Snake. We must find Master Hand," Robin told him. "The games are meant to be mandatory viewing, but I see nothing stopping anyone from leaving. I think the place we sent Rosalina last week deserves a second look."

'They're still searching, even after all this time,' thought Popo.  
He'd had a boost in hope after Nana survived the bloodbath. That, after all, was the scariest part of the games. He had no reason to doubt she'd survive longer. Maybe it would be long enough for the rest of the fighters to find the Arena and save everyone.

He looked back at the Boxing Ring's screen, currently showing them Mario, Luigi and Peach, who had managed to secure the Cornucopia for themselves in an alliance. It looked like they might have planned in advance to work together.  
'How come three close people from the same place get to go together? That's not very fair on everyone else. Nana had to go on her own,' wondered Popo.  
Although he supposed just being from different places didn't exclude alliances either, Nana seemed to have left the Cornucopia alone. He hoped she could stay safe for long enough.

Later that day, around nightfall, both the tributes and the fighters watching from home got to find out who had perished. People waited in anticipation, then the faces of 8 fighters were projected in the sky of the Arena, showing who had lost their lives- either to the Bloodbath, or some other means.

* * *

Living tributes (by district):  
1\. Mario, Peach  
2\. Zelda  
3: Fox, Samus  
4: Nana  
5: Sonic, Isabelle  
6: Palutena  
7: Marth, Lucina  
8: Diddy Kong  
9: Ryu  
10: Pikachu (Libre)  
12: Luigi, Corrin

Dead tributes: Inkling, Link, Kirby, Ness, Leaf, Wii Fit Trainer, Bowser Jr., Dark Pit


	5. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The games continue, looking at new charaters' perspectives during the first day. Despite the situation, some fighters have decided to work together- some wanting to gather everyone under one banner, and others wanting extra strength to help them win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking so long. I'm not as 100% focused on this as I was during the first 3 chapters, and I originally intended to have more in this chapter, but that didn't end up happening. RIP. Doesn't mean those ideas are gonna be completely abandoned, though- probably gonna see them in some way or another next chapter. I'm still going to keep writing this, but it's going to be about as consistent as my attention span. Expect more updates to exist, but do not have expectations for when they happen lol
> 
> Thanks to everyone for reading so far :)

Something wasn't right with Mewtwo's aura, and though Lucario had sensed it from the start, he had an even clearer sense when he was following Mewtwo to their "lead". Their aura seemed to have strange fluctuations of conflict and sorrow, and though anyone would be upset about the existence of the games, something did not seem quite right.

He raised his paw and reached out.  
"Mewtwo, stop."  
"What?"  
"Are you truly helping us?" Lucario queried.  
"I told you that it was only a lead, not anything certain," Mewtwo answered curtly, taking it as an accusation.  
"You're feeling guilty," Lucario stated.  
Mewtwo didn't respond for a moment, only continuing towards his destination.

"Only because I can't help much better than this."

\---

After failing to get a single object from the Cornucopia in the bloodbath, Pikachu had taken a huge risk. She scuffled inside a sleeping bag, and hoped nobody would notice her until it was safe. Her heart pounding (though she'd never admit it), she stayed at inside the bag, praying the eyes of the tributes would pass her over. Waiting. Straining her ears to make sure nobody was coming too near. And, slowly, the sounds of battle and death begun to die down.

"And DON'T come back!" she heard an italian voice yell- probably one of the Mario brothers.  
"Looks like it's finally all clear," said a high-pitched, soft voice. Maybe it was Princess Peach?  
"...Bro? Do you think he'll be okay?" murmured another voice, which sounded like it belonged to Luigi, making the other one Mario.  
"Maybe for a while, but he's pretty beat up. If his injuries don't take him, someone else will finish the job," Mario chuckled. "He always was a bit overconfident. I'm surprised he lasted so long when he had the disadvantage."

Silence, for a moment. Was this really the hero of the mushroom kingdom that they were listening to? He sounded so unfazed by the idea of killing people he'd known for years. It seemed like Peach and Luigi were shocked too, but must have held off from questioning him for now.  
"Well, I saw a sleeping bag and a blanket earlier. We won't all have to be cold at night," Peach exclaimed, changing the subject.  
"Looks like someone took the bucket. Ah well, that's-a not a big deal," Mario commented.  
"OH MAMMA MIA!" yelled Luigi. "There's a whole cooked chicken under here! And... a vial of something."  
"A vial? What colour is it?" asked his brother.  
Pikachu heard footsteps walk past her sleeping bag, amazed she still had aroused zero suspicion. She continued to stay very still.  
"It's clear. And the liquid inside is clear too," he answered.  
"Maybe it's some high-nutrient water," Mario thought aloud.  
"Oh no! Mario, that might be poisonous! Please be careful!" Peach alerted them.  
"Oh, alright."  
"Hey, why did you put it in your pocket? What are you going to use it for?" asked Luigi, sounding worried.  
"You never know," Mario calmly replied.  
More silence.

Pikachu laid (im)patiently for a long while, listening to them chat, discover more items and plan their actions. "If we stay at the cornucopia, the others will have to come to us eventually," somebody had said. That was true, wasn't it? They were planning on staying in the middle as long as nobody drove them out. At that moment, Pikachu realised she couldn't stay there forever, either. It might get pretty roasty in that sleeping bag, and she suspected that she was probably going to start twitching if she stayed there for too long. Besides, they weren't going to just leave the sleeping bag be. At some point, they'd discover something warm and fuzzy at the bottom of the bag when they were about to sleep, and then she'd REALLY be in trouble.

So she waited as long as the rest of her patience permit her to, then began to shuffle her way to the front of the bag.  
BANG. A cannon shot from nearby.  
"WAH!" cried Luigi, who was shocked by the noise.  
"It's alright, Luigi. We're safe," said Peach, trying to be soothing.  
"Who's cannon was that? Nobody is near here that we know," Mario wondered.  
Pikachu used the commotion to move a little faster along the bag, hoping the crumpling noises she made would be masked by the voices.  
"Maybe the cannon always sounds from near the Cornucopia, not the place of death," commented Peach.  
"U-um, do you guys hear something?" chattered Luigi, sounding terrified.  
Pikachu froze, VERY close to being visible.  
"You're just hearing things, Luigi. That sound must have really got to you, huh?" laughed Mario.

Pikachu breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then waited a while before finally emerging. The Mushroom Kingdom trio were all watching outwards from the edge of the central "stadium" (which was more of a fancy, painted floor) now, rather than inwards, so as long as Pikachu didn't make much noise or mess around, she would be safe for now. Looks like their outfits were those sports ones. They weren't really familiar to her, but she'd seen the three in that attire before, most likely when watching them play... something. Pikachu didn't even get an outfit, just a small bracelet as her token that didn't really do much for her. She missed her normal clothes. They were so much cooler.

The more important thing was that the trio held weapons close to them, with Peach having a golf club (Pikachu had been on the receiving end of one of those, and they were dangerous!) and Mario having a sword. She'd have to be careful with how she made her escape.

The first thing she grabbed was a dagger that had been thrown at the wall of the cornucopia. It was small enough for her to comfortably use, so she saw no reason to leave it there.  
Then, she walked over to the chicken, which had already been partially eaten. Pikachu crouched down down for a moment, sniffing the chicken then taking a large bite. Yup, smelled safe so it was fair game to eat for her, too. A shame she couldn't bring it with her, but she could always try to come back when it was dark and the three were asleep. That would be the master plan!

And then she walked towards the stash of items still in the middle, and something caught her eye- an X-bomb was lying on the floor. She picked it up as carefully as she could in her paws, while still trying to hold the dagger, feeling the power she had at this moment. This bomb was activated by being thrown, getting ready to blow up after hitting a surface with only a few seconds to react. Then, plumes of fire would erupt in 4 directions in the shape of an X, thus the name. This was something Pikachu was not going to leave behind, because it would be useful to defend herself in emergencies so long as she didn't hurt herself using it. That, and to be honest, she just thought it was really, really cool. With that, the oversized mouse held the dagger in her mouth and the bomb in her paws and started to sneak out of the Cornucopia, trying to avoid the eyes of the plumbers and the princess.

Unfortunately, they seemed especially interested in watching the direction of the Mushroom Hills, and the icy area didn't look welcoming at all, so she tried to head towards the rocky area instead. Additionally, someone was bound to turn around and see her eventually-  
"H-hey! Mario! Over there!" shouted Luigi. "It's Pikachu and she took something!"  
"What? Damn it, I knew we should have looked in more different directions!" Mario cursed.  
They stood prepared to chase her, and Pikachu began to run as fast as she could.  
"Hey, wait!" called Peach. "Leave her be. It's not worth the risk."  
Pikachu didn't bother pausing, because Mario and Luigi could easily have not listened or talked Peach out of it. She kept going for a while, long after she was sure they couldn't be still following her, only pausing when she was forced to by bumping into something.

Something that chirped.

Pikachu stumbled backwards with a "Pika!", being very careful with the X-bomb that had miraculously not yet triggered, though dropping her dagger. In front of her was Diddy Kong, panicking, and rummaging through a backpack to take out a slingshot. Pikachu held up the X-bomb in clear sight, hoping he'd realise that it would go off if he wasn't careful.

Interestingly, Diddy Kong seemed to have worn his normal clothing into the arena, so she decided whoever was behind the style in the games must be quite the comedian (just not a very funny one). Her eyes then moved to the backpack- it was strange... That looked just like the backpack she tried to get that Lucina took instead. Maybe he'd found one that looks just the same out in the open, or maybe he'd taken it from Lucina sometime after Pikachu hid? Suddenly, she had a different idea, so she carefully put the X-bomb down as well and waved her arms about.  
"Pika pika-chuu pi pi! (Maybe we can work together!)"

Diddy Kong couldn't speak to Pokémon, so he just looked confused. She stopped waving her arms and walked calmly around the bomb.  
"Pika pi-chu," she said, trying to explain her idea, even though it fell on deaf ears.  
Diddy Kong seemed to understand it was an offer of friendship, putting away the slingshot, but he kept his arms firmly wrapped around the bag instead. It seemed like he wasn't intent on sharing yet. Pikachu smiled despite that, happy she'd managed to make an ally in an unforgiving arena. She'd be safer while she was with someone else and together, they could hold more items. Yes, together they could steal more from those fools at the cornucopia and then they would feast upon chicken!

\---

"So... we have a splattershot and a bucket quarter-full of oil. That's it," Samus sighed. "Not as much as I'd hoped."  
"No, but we do have something to defend ourselves with, whereas some people just left with nothing. I'd say we did alright," Fox stated.  
"Some people didn't leave at all. I'm shocked Link of all people left himself open," she commented.  
"Wait, Link is dead?" Fox asked, shocked.  
"Yeah, I saw him myself with an arrow through him," Samus responded calmly. "You weren't paying attention to the death toll?"

Samus and Fox had planned in advance to work together but were seperated during the chaos of the Bloodbath. Luckily, they had planned for this: in the 10-second countdown, Samus signalled the direction she would plan on going if they couldn't secure the Cornucopia, being the icy, cold area. She figured that she'd be able to take it, whereas others would be intimidated away from it, giving them time to plan and less chance of danger while they weren't prepared. Unfortunately, it took a bit longer than they had expected to find each other afterwards, but at least they were together now.

The projection of those passed on in the skies had already passed. They'd been in the snowy area for a while, exploring to see if there was anything useful. Useful things aren't always items, either- sometimes, they're parts of the landscape that could be abused if a fight was necessary. Unfortunately, it was getting a little too dark to observe as effectively, so they were going to finish soon and resume when it was light again.

The other problem was that they didn't have any food or water, and they didn't see any good solutions in sight. Their best bet was heading back to the Cornucopia tomorrow and hoping to get something useful. Luckily for them, they were pretty tough people, which is part of why they wanted to stick together: they'd be able to deal with harsh environments and would probably handle a lack of food better than some others might. Sure, Samus may not have been given the most appropiate clothing for this area (being a simple blue shirt and trousers), but a little cold didn't change who she was and what she was capable of. Or a lot of cold. Ok, she was uncomfortable, but what was there to do?

"Hey, is that a light over there?" Fox said, turning towards a part higher in the mountain.  
That would be the biggest advantage of nighttime- it made any form of light much more obvious, and light usually meant something was going on. Samus didn't respond, but Fox would know that it'd caught her interest because she immediately began climbing towards it. Indeed, there did appear to be a flickering, warm light in that direction.

As they got closer, they began to hear voices, and soon they were able to make out what they were saying.  
"...Yes. It feels almost like a warning. We should be reeeeeally careful if anyone else comes," a childlike voice spoke.  
"Hmm," another voice paused before speaking. "You may be right. Well, at least we're probably safe here. I don't see anyone discovering us soon."

'How ironic,' Samus thought to herself, continuing to approach quietly.  
If the two up there didn't see them, then Fox and Samus could surprise-attack and start with an advantage. They may have only had a splattershot as a weapon, but Samus was physically strong and Fox was both fast and not exactly weak. Provided the two voices were the only ones up there, and given one of them was probably a kid (if there were any of those left), they'd likely be able to overpower them and move one step closer to victory.

"We'll have to move sometime to get more people on our side. Where do you think we should go next?" the more grown-up sounding voice asked.  
"I don't know... maybe to the grassy place. It seems nice there, and it seems like friendlier people might go there too." replied the first voice.  
"Oh, yes! Sonic went that way, and he wanted everyone to work together. Maybe we can look for him or someone else that will help, then build from there."

By now, the space-faring duo were able to peek up to the level that the voices were coming from, and there they saw a cave. Inside the cave was a wood fire illuminating the surroundings, and they were able to see well enough that inside the cave was Nana and Corrin, calmly talking about other tributes. That cave also contained a surprising amount of supplies that they couldn't see just two people carrying around on their own. A mace, a hammer that looked like the ones the Ice Climbers used (which it might well have been) and some dark, spooky-looking axe. There were a few cabbages sat around and a strange wooden contraption to the side that was mostly obscured from view at the moment. They had food and weapons... they had the two things you would want most in the Hunger Games. They couldn't have got all that from the cornucopia- the items weren't familiar to Samus and what she had seen there, there was so much to carry up the mountain, and so on. How did all this get here?

That wasn't very important right now, though, because they needed to figure out how to attack. All the items were in the back of the cave, and in the middle was both the fire and the two fighters sat next to it. One thing Samus knew was that Corrin was trusting and naive, and seemed to remain that way. Maybe she could mask as a friend...  
"I can step up first to distract them, then you can get to the items and we attack," Samus whispered to her ally.  
Fox seemed to have his doubts, but not for the reason Samus expected.  
"Do we really want to hurt them? They're not bad people, and there might still be a way out," Fox whispered back.  
"We don't have a choice."  
It was a very loose plan, but after a moment Fox seemed to accept it as a better idea than nothing. He nodded at her, passed over the Splattershot, and she decided now was as good a time as ever to move.

Samus climbed up and slowly walked into the cave.  
"Wah! Stop! Don't come any closer!" Nana cried, noticing Samus very quickly.  
Hearing Nana, Corrin looked to the cave's entrance and also saw Samus. She stood up and rushed to grab the axe, while Samus held up the Splattershot, already preparing for a fight. So much for masking.  
"Look, I don't want to fight you, Samus. Please, just don't come inside," Corrin said.  
"Your first instinct when you saw me was to grab that axe," Samus responded simply.  
"W-well, I just wanted to make sure you didn't come right in," Corrin retorted, as Nana went to grab the hammer. "There's something you should know, Samus-"  
"I'm sure it can wait," Samus interrupted, taking a step forward.

Then the three heard a loud crack.  
That didn't seem like a good sign. Corrin and Nana took this as a signal to move towards the entrance, though whether this was to fight Samus, leave the cave or both, she wasn't sure. Maybe they just didn't want to be cornered. Regardless, Samus decided she could probably afford to inconvenience them, so she shot ink between her and the two others before turning to the exit, where Fox stood- he'd probably decided now was the time to make his entrance.  
"Did I hear a noise from here?" he asked, moving into the cave.  
"Fox!?" Corrin exclaimed in surprise as he hopped over the ink and slid past Corrin, presumably to grab some items.  
The princess didn't attempt to stop him, probably deciding he was a low priority. She, too, tried to jump over the ink towards Samus, though she fell short, slowing her down.

Samus took the opportunity to fire more ink at her enemy, weakening her. When Corrin tried to move past, she only got kicked, causing her to stumble back and grunt. Realising that Samus was not going to let her free without a fight, she swung the axe at her opponent, however it missed as the other fighter dodged away from her attack. Another crack, even more noticeable this time, and definitely coming from above- and Samus realised just how much danger she was in. As she turned to run, the next things she heard were Corrin screaming, and...

BANG. The sound of a cannon.

...

Nana opened her eyes to darkness, the guiding light of the fire no longer defending her. She looked behind her at the cave she'd just left and gasped. The whole thing had collapsed in on itself, Samus mostly crushed by the cave though partially exposed, having moved moments too late. She struggled for a moment before realising exactly what situation she was in. Trapped.

"Nana... help me," Samus commanded weakly.  
Perhaps she could try to break the rocks with her hammer, but it wasn't going to reverse whatever damage Samus sustained from her unfortunate situation, and she couldn't reverse anything for the others either. Fox had gone past them, probably to take whatever he could of the items still in the back, and Corrin was fighting Samus closeby to the entrance before it all came crumbling down. Nana had used the distraction to get past in case she needed to escape, and as it turned out, that had saved her life. But Corrin must still be there...

Nana felt the beginnings of tears, realising her one comrade was virtually in her grave. The person that had shown her kindness, even after the games were already underway, was probably gone. If Corrin was even still alive, she would not be in good condition and it wouldn't be easy getting her out. Her life seemed like a sacrifice so that Nana could keep going, and she felt herself regretting how little she was able to help. All along, that cave was a trap to lure in groups, with so many useful things inside to tempt people. That odd wooden thing WAS a warning, counting the people inside and had marks showing them that too many people was something to avoid. But Samus... she didn't listen, nor did she move to a safer distance when she first heard the noise. Wasn't Samus meant to be smart? But then she hadn't seen the object, either... but whatever the case, the whole thing must have been intentional. _They_ did this. The whole arena was meant to harbor deaths and this was just part of the design.

Even in the cold, though, and even after the fire had been concealed and stifled, Nana felt new determination in her heart. She had to keep going for what Corrin had believed in, and she had to try and get everyone together. At first, she had thought her best hope was just trying to survive, but now she had a new goal- seek out someone else who could help her cause, then kickstart a snowball effect. Though Crazy Hand tried to tell her that there wasn't much hope, Corrin proved that wasn't true- and Nana was going to put as much effort as she could into saving everyone.

Nana picked up the splattershot from near Samus and squinted her eyes to try and see how much ink was left inside. The answer? Not much at all, and Nana didn't have a way of refilling it. She put it down, then turned to Samus and finally spoke again.

"I'm so sorry," Nana frowned. "I can't help you now. Maybe, though, I can help someone else."


	6. What happened to you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The games hold the power to change people forever, and that's in more ways than one, regardless of if you've participated or not. Can you trust those whose voices have changed their tone, or been brought to silence?

Mewtwo once again asked themselves the question they'd pondered for much longer than they'd like to admit.  
"I have the power to stop this right now. Why shouldn't I?"

They could just teleport each of the fighters out of that room before the games even started, just as Mewtwo themselves could leave freely, couldn't they? Of course, returning some of them to their normal states would not be as easy, but the tributes could still escape to see their loved ones again at the VERY least.

And then they gave themselves the very same answer.  
If the tributes were brought out, chances are they'd be either brought back in again or killed on the spot once they were found out. Mewtwo would also be punished, which (as usual) became the new question. Should Mewtwo risk themselves for such little benefit? They were allowed such special access to what was going on, yet it just caused them pain when they were unable to help, unable to tell anyone the cruel realities of it all, and unable to share the burden. Would the aftermath make it worse for them or better? What if they were killed too?

There was at minimum one other Mewtwo out there, residing in a small cave in Kalos, hiding. The current Mewtwo wouldn't even have to be cloned or recreated. It would as simple as a new invitation, and in a way, the Mewtwo of now would find peace. After staring at a blank, stone wall for far too long, they finally decided to teleport back inside and do it. Was there a reason not to?

Actually, there were a few reasons, mainly to do with the wellbeing of others in the future... they closed their eyes as they re-entered the training room, cursing themselves for having doubts again, and then began the cycle of pointless questions once more. Why couldn't they ever just come to a decision?  
"Um, Mewtwo?" murmured the voice of a little girl.  
Their eyes snapped open and focused on the child in front of them. Leaf, a master Pokémon trainer, but still young and clueless. In a way, the cloned Pokémon was once young and clueless too, but they had lived for decades and seen much by now. Leaf was similar, and yet she somehow had never matured a year above ten.

Mewtwo braced themselves for more poorly-masked queries on how to escape.  
"What are you doing here?" she asked.  
"What do you think?" Mewtwo grumbled.  
"Hmm," Leaf paused for a moment to think. "Well, you say that you're here to help if we're confused about something in training, but why is it you? I feel like Byleth would be a better fit because he's a teacher."  
"Byleth is new," Mewtwo responded quickly.  
Leaf didn't seem satisfied.  
"What does being new have to do with anything? We're all on the same page for this game anyway," she said.

This time it was Mewtwo's turn to pause. What could they tell her? In a way, they had volunteered to be a part of this mess, and they had more information than any other fighter (although the girl didn't know that). They could say it was because they could teleport, maybe, but they just did not like where this topic was going so they decided to try and wrap it up.  
"It doesn't matter. You're wasting your time," Mewtwo growled, trying to finish the conversation.  
"Well, there's one more thing," Leaf changed her tone. "Are you... alright? Like, are you feeling well?"

That was a question Mewtwo hadn't been asked in a very long time, and for a moment, they considered answering, but then they turned away. They could not show weakness. With that, Mewtwo said their last words to Leaf:  
"Leave me be."

\---

Unsurprisingly, he'd been left behind again. Peach was comfortably snuggled into the sleeping bag, and Mario had wrapped himself in the blanket, leaving Luigi with nothing.  
"Hey, Luigi! Can you keep watch for us?" Mario had asked him, knowing his brother would comply.  
He knew he had no reason to feel this way over something so small as this, especially since SOMEONE had to, but the crushing stresses of the past week had really gotten to him and he didn't even get anything to defend himself with other than his allies. After the games started, the Cornucopia had a lot of items picked out of it, but Luigi still managed to find a shield among what was left- a shield that Mario immediately took from him.  
"It'll be more useful if I use it with my sword. That way I can more easily deal damage and protect myself," Mario had explained, before mumbling quietly to himself. "(What use is someone with only a shield?)"

Luigi had no reason to resent his brother- in fact, he greatly admired him. He was brave, strong, talented, friendly and everything Luigi had always aspired to be. The issue was that he felt he could no longer recognise him. The "Mario" he had allied with did not feel like his big bro at all.

There were so many red flags to think through. The way he spoke about his old smash pals felt cold and heartless, and the way he handled their supplies seemed strange. Those gave him bad vibes, but the way he acted in combat was what really made him worried.  
Their plan at the bloodbath, as Luigi had interpreted it, boiled down to letting the other tributes weaken each other while the trio tried their best to preserve themselves. When everyone else was weak, then they would strike. It was so simple, yet so easy to mess up, and Mario, despite coming up with the idea, didn't seem all that intent on following it. He pursued people anyway in a ruthless way he'd never seen before, and sustained some wounds he should not have had (notably, he had an injury on his side he was trying to conceal. Luigi later realised was probably caused by a spear).

He even chased after the weak and harmless, especially earlier on. Would Bowser Jr. still be alive if Mario hadn't acted this way? What about Leaf? If they survived to the final 3, would he turn on his allies too?

No, no, no! What was he thinking, questioning his brother like this? After everything that had happened, and what Crazy Hand had said to him, he had stayed strong and couldn't give in now. Luigi could trust Mario, couldn't he? After all, he was probably very stressed about everything as well. Luigi remembered a promise he'd made to himself to spare lives when possible, and he was going to try continuing that way, even if his red counterpart struggled to. Just keep going. Don't think too much.

Realising he'd begun to doze off, he shook his head and once again scanned the area. As usual, nothing much was going on. It felt odd that ever since Pikachu had come from nowhere that same day, nobody had come to revisit the Cornucopia. Wouldn't everyone want the extra supplies that were there, or to challenge the three that had claimed it? Perhaps they were just biding their time to wait for the right moment, or maybe he was about to jinx it?

Luigi was about to rest his head on the floor when a screech caused him to jolt upright again. It sounded familiar to him, like a monkey, when a thought struck him. Was this Diddy Kong? Curious and a little bit worried, he turned to watch the direction that the noise came from and waited for something else to happen. What ended up happening was nothing, for a moment.  
'Maybe Mario was right. Maybe I am hearing things,' Luigi thought, confused.

Except he wasn't. Bounding towards the Cornucopia from behind a boulder came, as suspected, Diddy Kong. Luigi rushed to the sleeping Mario, shaking his shoulder.  
"Mario, wake up, bro!" he yelled. "Diddy Kong is here!"  
Mario opened his eyes, blinked, then stared at Luigi.  
"Come on, get up!" he continued, glancing over his shoulder to see Diddy Kong much closer than before- and in hot pursuit of the ape, Lucina and Pikachu. He then looked over to Peach, who must have been woken up by the noise and was already grabbing her golf club. Finally, he turned back to the three approaching them and took a few steps forward.

"Stop! Go that way! Don't come over here!" Luigi shouted at them, pointing towards the Mushroom Hills.  
Instead, Diddy Kong seemed to actively turn towards him, so Luigi prepared for a fight, as much as he didn't want to. He stood his ground, and then waited for Diddy to come to him.

When Diddy was in close enough range, he pounced and tried to grab on to Luigi, but as he was midair his opponent kicked him, knocking him onto his back. Peach then came to Luigi's side and, as Diddy attempted to get up, hit him with her club. Mario, rather than focusing on Diddy Kong like the others, rushed past with the intention of fighting the two who followed the Kong in the first place.

Luigi, seeing Diddy had a backpack, tried to remove it from his shoulders. Again, he didn't feel right doing this, but if he was attacking them then perhaps it was the best thing to do. He pushed his internal worries away again, and grabbed on to the backpack instead just before Diddy was going to flee towards their supplies. To this the little monkey struggled and protested, kicking and thrashing about. Peach, sensing an opportunity, took aim and whacked Diddy Kong's head with all the force she could, stunning him.

After that, obtaining the backpack was stupidly easy, and Diddy Kong began to stumble away before falling over and wailing. The noise wrenched at his heart so Luigi turned away and looked at the scene Mario had gotten himself into instead. Feeling bad for the ape was not going to help his brother against those people who were going to attack him. Though... wasn't Mario the aggressor in this situation?

Click.  
Suddenly, in front of Luigi was a glowing and newly activated X-bomb, and everyone froze before a panic to get away from the blast. All, it seemed, except Pikachu, who appeared to be attacking Mario in a frenzy to stop him from moving away. Everyone could see the directions the X-bomb was going to explode, and Mario was in direct fire of it. There, Luigi panicked and went through the many different ways he could have changed the situation. Maybe he could have shouted an instruction to Mario- better than nothing. Maybe he could risk his tail to turn the directions of the X-bomb, making Mario safer. Maybe he could run over and fight off Pikachu, although actually, the X-bomb would detonate too quickly for that.

Luigi hesitated and did nothing. The next few seconds were a slow agony that Luigi did anything to distract himself from, knowing that in reality he was powerless.  
He saw Lucina bolt past him, apparently never interested in fighting Mario in the first place. He wondered how he could tell it was Lucina when he first saw her from afar, but then he remembered- Marth got a spear from the bloodbath, didn't he? At least, it looked like he had one when Luigi had- albeit briefly- saw him earlier that day. That, and heard his voice, which seemed to be the main way of distinguishing them now. If he'd have lost it, perhaps Luigi would have thought he was Lucina too.

Marth had used that spear to hurt Mario, but at the same time, Mario had him backed into a wall at the cornucopia. He wondered who would have survived if Luigi hadn't dragged Mario's attention away because he was struggling to fight Ryu. He wondered how Marth was doing now, in fact. The swordfighter might still be alive, since he wasn't projected in the sky earlier, and perhaps still trying to use a weapon he wasn't accustomed to.

A few beeps pulsed from the bomb, and in turn pulsed through Luigi's ears. Pikachu had a dagger and had previously kept stabbing at Mario's legs, unable to reach anything more. Mario tried to fight back, but the little mouse was too quick and the attacks must have rendered him too weak to stand as he tumbled to the ground. The bomb would go any moment now, and yet only now was Pikachu turning to move. She jumped away just in time, but Mario was not so lucky.

Another accursed cannon shot rung out shortly after the bomb exploded. Luigi weakly looked into the flames, knowing that once they dispersed, he would not be able to look any direction without seeing death. As soon as they arrived, so too did they end, and then Luigi saw his brother's burned and seemingly lifeless body. No, that cannon could have been somebody else. He might not be, yet.

Luigi had just put his panic on pause to daydream for just a few seconds, hoping the distraction would stop him from reacting so strongly. Instead, it just made everything worse.  
"MARIO!" he cried, running to the body.  
He didn't care if Pikachu might attack him next. He needed to see his brother, feel his pulse, see him move, anything.

Nothing.

Everything came crashing down in a cacophony of emotions, as if a cave had collapsed in on him. You shouldn't have doubted him. Why didn't you help him? Why did you think about how nobody had come back to the cornucopia? Why didn't you save more lives? Why, why, why, why anything? What happened to Mario, what happened to his brother, and what did anyone do to deserve this? What. Was. The. Point?

For a long time, Luigi didn't pay much mind to his surroundings. His mind had almost become a fog, his body a rotting tree that he was no longer aware of. Mario's blood was still leaking from the wounds, just like anyone else. Just then, luigi remembered something- Link's body, along with everyone else perished, was not there anymore. Where was he? Did someone take away the body? Was someone going to take away Mario?

Here, there was another cannon shot, but Luigi didn't care anymore.

\---

Rosalina sat quietly on a cushion, a cool draft running through the room and a Luma in her lap. She was in the "reception" of the mansion, not able to bear being in the Boxing Ring much longer. Usually, the draft was annoying, but now, feeling the air brush against her was quite welcome.

Rosalina used to sit like this with Kirby. It was not uncommon for Lumas to be with her as well, but in these times, it felt like everything in the world was drawing attention to the dead. If the world were only a sea, then it used to be still- the week before the games, the waves were beginning to stir, and now, the planet had become a full-on storm. She was glad mandatory viewing of the games wasn't actually being enforced, because otherwise, she didn't know what would happen to everyone.

Bowser, after finding out his son was gone, had gone on a rampage. With nowhere obvious to direct his anger and frustrations, he turned to other fighters. Ganondorf was apparently assigned to keeping him quiet after an embarrassing defeat, keeping him locked away somewhere. How long would Bowser be angry until he broke down? It was exhausting enough without the remaining fighters turning on each other. She prayed for his safety, but even more, he prayed for the rest of his children.

Speaking of those from Hyrule, Sheik had been sent to the same place Rosalina visited last week- that place Ganondorf had been during the attack of the subspace army to be ordered around by "Master Hand". It was a room of dusty screems and control that everyone had assumed was abandoned. Like the Boxing Ring, though, it must have been repurposed, and yes, that was where Master Hand resided. Or perhaps it was another "Master Hand", under the control of some evil being, because she'd never seen the hand act like it was now.

"If you want to leave this place, then you must give me something in return", the hand's words echoed.  
She could have stayed there with him, but instead left without a voice and having forgotten how to write. Better off than Pit, perhaps, who apparently can't read in the first place, but she failed to understand why this was happening. The hand had explained to her exactly "why", but he had sounded like a malevolent deity trying to have a laugh. She couldn't take his "reasons" seriously.

Anyway, Sheik was already gone by the time she'd found out, so if she wanted to protest she didn't get the chance to (not that she would- perhaps he'd find more than she did). That was why Rosalina was here. If Sheik came back, she wanted to be the first to see him, because she was the only one that knew what he was about to get into. Rosalina had come back with nothing. If Sheik did too, then at least he had the comfort that he was not alone.

She heard the familiar creak of the old door opening and looked to see the sillhouette of Sheik step in. Rosalina stood up and floated towards him, but he didn't seem to notice and wordlessly started to walk past her. Not having a verbal way to get his attention, she grabbed his hand and looked at him with concern. Sheik didn't speak much regardless, but it would be a difficult adjustment for anyone if he was given the same choice she was.

He turned to her, then withdrew his hand from hers- only to hold out a sheet of paper. It was crumpled and there was some dust that it must have picked up from whatever surface it was on. After all, the actual page looked quite new. She assumed it must have been what he'd gotten from his visit.  
Rosalina glanced over the paper, covered in letters, numbers and names. She didn't understand what it was all about at first, so glanced back up at Shiek to see if he had anything to... say? Emote? His eyes did not move from her, so she looked back down again and tried to think carefully.

'A few names are there twice... Interesting. And there is my name, but only once,' she thought.  
2F. Rosalina. 6.  
There were two highlighted names in red and green there, too, but she didn't see any significance to them other than that they both had the number 1. She looked down the final columns, and that's when it hit her, recognising every name on that part of the page as someone who had been missing for over a week now.  
'Are these lists of Hunger Games tributes?' she so desperately wanted to ask as she glanced back at Sheik.  
He must have recognised her now surprised expression as understanding. He nodded, put away the paper, then resumed on his way, probably back to the Boxing Ring.

But it still didn't add up. Rosalina's name was on there, and she didn't remember anything about this happening before, nor did she remember hearing from anyone. There had to be character's names who were on none of those lists, and they'd remember seeing those games if they'd happened, wouldn't they? That is, if they actually had happened, so that's wrong. Maybe they were planned games or simulations, in which case she must have narrowly escaped death by being removed, or maybe the whole thing was just fake. Even if the current games were real, the other tribute lists might have been false info planted to trick any visitors, which was always a possibility. But what were they meant to make of this? She found herself wishing she could look at the paper again at this point, but instead...

She sunk back down onto the floor with her Luma, who was staying extra close in an attempt to be comforting to both itself and its mother. The poor little stars didn't need this stress. They had new infomation about the games, but they still didn't seem to have any new info on where to find the Arena.

She had left the Boxing Ring for a break, and she still had yet to give herself one, so that's what she was going to do. Sheik was back. She could try to rest for a while now.


End file.
